A Life More Ordinary
by JA Baker
Summary: Sequel to Red In Tooth And Claw: Twenty years ago, two of humanities greatest heroes (and one of their smartest scientists) gave their lives to save the galaxy. Or at least, that's what everyone was supposed to believe...
1. Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot

_This is a direct sequel to my previous story_ Red In Tooth and Claw  
_if you haven't read that, then the chances are very little of this will make sense at all  
__All rights held by the usual suspects  
__Story can not be reposted without authors written consent  
__With thanks to Terradyne for proofreading_

**A Life _More_ Ordinary  
****Chapter 1: Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot...****  
**

To an outside observer, the office would have seemed somewhat contradictory.

The furniture was laid out with near geometric precision, from the desk and chairs right down to the computer terminal and stationary. The dull, light brown carpet was the kind often picked for civil offices because it was stain resistant and hard wearing, cutting down the number of times it had to be cleaned or replaced. The twin, battered, battleship-grey filling-cabinets wouldn't have looked out of place in any office for the last six-hundred years, if not longer. Each was topped with extra folders that simply refused to fit into the draws. The walls were painted a soft, lifeless beige intended to have a calming influence but more likely to suck the will to live from anyone who spent any time looking at them. Aside from the window that took up half of one wall, the only lighting came from a pair of fluorescent strips hidden behind a cheap plastic cover that did a poor job of looking like frosted glass.

Yet for all that, there were unmistakably warm touches. A child's finger paintings hung on the wall amid the commendations and certificates, a framed family portrait sat on the desk opposite the computer display, and a well-used mug bearing the title WORLD'S BEST DAD in big red letters sat atop a handmade coaster. Of the two jackets that hung from the hooks by the door, one was a green padded wind-breaker with the word SHERIFF printed on the back in large, golden letters, while the second was a black leather bomber-jacket that looked like it had seen more than its fair share of use over the years.

None of this mattered to the room's only occupant, who sat behind the desk with a resigned look on his face, his eyes fixed on the computer terminal. Organising the weekly staff roster to take into account the long overdue vacation of one of his deputies shouldn't be so difficult. He'd been a deputy himself for fifteen years before bowing to popular demand and stepping up to take the position of county sheriff when his predecessor retired. For the last five years he had been responsible for the safety of twenty thousand people. Not exactly the most taxing position he had ever held, but still something that was starting to turn his already greying hair white around the edges...

"Hello, John." an unexpected voice called from the doorway.

He couldn't help but be amazed at just how sharp his reflexes still where, even after so long. He had his side-arm drawn and at the ready even before he realised what he was doing. It was only his equally sharp instincts that stopped him just short of actually pulling the trigger, but it had been far closer than he would have liked to admit. His keen eyes quickly took in the situation; the woman standing before him was dressed in civilian clothing that was just a little too stylish for somewhere as far off the beaten track as Wolf Lake, but not enough to make her stand out in a crowd. Her jacket was tight enough that his well-trained eye could detect the faint outline of a holstered side-arm, but her slender arms were folded across her chest as she leaned against the door-frame. Her hair, much like his own, was starting to go a little grey in places, and there were more than a few lines around her mouth and eyes.

"You going to point that thing at me all day, or are you going to invite me in?" The woman asked, amazingly relaxed for someone with a gun pointed at their head, "Because I've come a very long way to see you, and I'm not as young as I used to be, so I could use a seat."

The sheriff remained perfectly still, his senses reaching out as far as they could. He could hear the chatter of the CB radio out by the desk and the clicking of keys as the deputy on duty there went about their work. The low rumble of a truck carrying freshly cut lumber along the road outside mingled with the songs of the local bird-life. His nose could detect the first faint hints of a fresh pot of coffee on the boil in the small break room down the hall, rich with promises of cinnamon and hazelnut. Nothing at all seemed out of place, aside from the woman standing before him. A woman he hadn't seen in a little over twenty years. A woman who should, by all rights, be on another planet thousands of light-years away, believing him to be long dead. She should not, under any circumstances he could think of, have been standing in his office doorway.

"Kendra..." he almost croaked, his mouth suddenly almost painfully dry, "How...? Why...?"

"That is a very long story, and if you don't mind I will sit down to tell it." the woman closed the door and crossed the room to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk, seemingly unconcerned about the gun that tacked her every move, "Five days ago I was back home on Kobol, sitting in my office, going over some very boring reports for anything the other analysts might have missed, when I was visited by an old friend of yours. I was more than a little surprised to see him, even more so when he explained just what had really happened back on... well, the last time we saw each other."

"Edward." John's eyes narrowed as he lowered his gun, "Why? After all these years, why now?"

"Because your daughter did something that, under other circumstances, might be considered admirable: she donated blood while on a school trip to a hospital, despite the fact that you had specifically forbade it." Kendra rolled her eyes, "Kids today, huh? Never listen to their parents. Anyway, the hospital A.I. ran the regular tests to determine blood type and to check for any diseases, and, well, you can imagine what it found. Fortunately Edward had left one of his little friends to keep an eye on you, and they were able to clean up the mess before it got any further, but The Conclave came to the consensus that someone needed to come talk to you in person. Someone they knew you would listen to. So they chose me. Turns out being a spy-master gets you a reputation for being good at keeping secrets."

"Miranda...we've never told her." The sheriff closed his eyes, "Beth and I felt it was best not to burden her with the truth."

"As a mother myself, I can understand that. I know my own children have enough trouble coming to terms with the idea that their parents took part in some of the events written about in the history books." Kendra nodded in agreement, "I take it you've at least heard of some of the films and TriVee shows about, well, what we got up to, back in the day? They never get it just right, no matter how much research they do."

"I've never taken much of an interest in what others have to say." John shrugged, "I was there, I know what happened: that's enough for me."

"Probably a very healthy way to look at things." Kendra chuckled, "But the fact remains that you are going to have to talk to your daughter; she needs to understand the risks that come with simply being _who_ and _what_ she is. That's not something you can protect her from forever."

"Yeah, we know." The sheriff admitted, "It's just, well, it never seemed like the right time. And now she's getting ready to graduate and is talking about going to collage in the capital..."

"...and all it will take is one blood test or in-depth medical exam to set off every alarm bell between here and Caprica." Kendra frowned, "You had to know this day was coming; you've done a remarkably good job of hiding your tracks, but it's all just one big house of cards, and the wind has started to blow."

"I think you're mixing your metaphors, but your point is valid."

"So you'll talk to her? And soon?"

"Tonight."

"Good." Kendra smiled, "You know, having come this far, I wouldn't mind seeing 'Beth' again. It's been a long time, and she was a good friend to me when no-one else would give me the time of day."

"She'd like that. We don't talk about, well, 'back in the day', very much, but I know she misses you and Sharon."

"Yes, I did notice that a certain someone scored higher then I did when it came to naming your daughter."

"Don't take it personally; Beth tossed a coin, and it was always going to be Miranda if we had a girl."

"Well, I have a son named John and a daughter named... after Beth."

"You have photos?"

"Thousands; I'll show you later." Kendra nodded to the phone on the desk, "You going to call ahead?"

"No." John chuckled, "I want to see the look on her face when she sees you."

* * *

It was a short drive from the Sheriff's office out to the split-level, ranch style house at the base of one of the mountains that surrounded the town on three sides. It was far enough out to give a feeling of privacy, but close enough to be convenient. The sun was still high in the sky as the somewhat battered but still perfectly serviceable Warthog pulled into the gravel driveway behind a newer sedan. Even from that distance, and despite the thick, insulated glass windows, it was possible to hear raised voices from within the house.

John groaned under his breath as he locked his car and led his guest down the driveway towards the house, absent mindedly catching a baseball that had been aimed at his head with incredible speed and accuracy from somewhere out of sight. It hit the palm of his hand with a loud crack, but his arm didn't move so much as a single millimetre.

"Better luck next time." He tossed it back to a young man just emerging from the trees, who looked like a younger version of himself, "Sam, this is Kendra, an old friend of your mother and I. Kendra, this is Samuel, our youngest."

"Ma'am." The teenager nodded, surprised given that he thought he knew all his parents friends.

"Nice to meet you, Sam." Kendra nodded, "You certainly took after your father's side of the family."

What she said was true; even at fourteen, he stood over 170cm, broad at the shoulder and over a hundred kilograms. It was clear, despite the baggy clothing he wore, that there wasn't a gram of fat on his lean body. But it was his piercing, icy-blue eyes and stoic stance that most resembled that of his father. But there wasn't the hard edge that still remained behind John's eyes, the look of someone who instinctively calculated the quickest and most efficient way of killing you the moment they looked at you. It was a look Kendra had grown used to over the years of her interaction with the various SPARTANS who lived or served on Kobol. None of them ever lost it, but she had long since stopped taking it personally. Fortunately, Sam looked like any other teenager; teetering on the verge of adulthood, but still a child at heart.

"Mir's going nuts again." The boy cocked his head towards the house, "She got a D on her English Lit exam, and now mom says she can't go out with Devon tonight."

"Devon?" Kendra asked inquisitively.

"Her boyfriend." John replied gruffly.

"Brave kid." Kendra chuckled.

"He's a cocky little..." John took a deep breath, "He's a very self-confident young man."

"Aren't daughters just _wonderful_?" Kendra asked rhetorically, "Now come on; I want to see Beth and meet this Miranda who's gotten you so worked up."

John just grunted as he led the way towards the house, the shouting from inside growing louder with every step. They were only a few paces away when the door was flung open so hard it hit the wall and rebounded, almost colliding with the young woman who came charging out after it.

If Sam looked like his father, than Miranda definitely took after her mothers side of the family. She stood around 1.7 meters, with shoulder length blonde hair. Kendra had a mental flash-back to the first time she had seen her mother, decades before on New Caprica. She had the same inquisitive grey-blue eyes as her mother and grandmother, albeit right that moment with the righteous fury that only a young woman angry with her parents could muster. She was so busy glaring over her shoulder at someone in the house that she walked right into her father, bouncing off of him and falling over backwards. John's reactions proved to be as quick as ever, and he caught her by the arm and pulled her back to her feet.

"You got a 'D' in English Lit?" He asked, surprisingly calmly.

"Traitor." Miranda glared at her younger brother, who just smirked, "So what if I did?"

"You're not a 'D' student." John countered, "At least, not when you're studying rather than spending time with Devon Harper."

"God, just because you're so old you're practically a fossil doesn't mean that I can't enjoy my life." His daughter complained, shaking her self free of his grip, "I'm almost 18; you can't run my life forever!"

"Frak me!" A voice called form inside the house, stopping John before he could say something he'd regret.

"Hello, Elizabeth." Kendra smiled, "Long time, no see."

The years had been kind to her friend; her hair remained blond, with not hints of grey, and there were only a few lines around her face. But aside from that, she looked very much the same as they had the last time they'd seen each other. Beth strode over to her friend and embraced her in a tight hug, a deep smile on her face. Then, just as quickly, the smile faded and was replaced with a look of fear and anxiety.

"Wait, if you're here, then..." She looked around, keen eyes scanning the hillside and sky for any possible threat to her family, "How long do we have?"

"No one else knows, not yet." Kendra did her best to reassure the other woman, glancing at Miranda, "That's part of what we need to talk about. All of us."

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Harsh Truths

**DEAR GOD, PLEASE READ WHAT FOLLOWS:**

_This is a direct sequel to my previous story_ Red In Tooth and Claw  
_if you haven't read that, then the chances are very little of this will make sense at all_

**Now, please, stop telling me that you don't understand what's happening!**

_We now return you to the story..._

**A Life _More_ Ordinary  
****Chapter 2: Harsh Truths**

To say the feeling around the kitchen table was tense would have been an understatement: it could have been cut into chunks and sold as low-grade insulation. John stood against the outside door, cutting off the most obvious line of retreat, while Kendra had taken station by the other, arms folded across her chest. Sam was sat on a stool by the sink, thankful that he was not the one in trouble, but curious to see just what had gotten his parents so worked up. Miranda sat at the table, having regained some of her composure, but watching her mother as the older woman paced back and forth like a caged tiger.

"Was it deliberate? Did you set out to break one of the few cardinal rules we ever set the two of you?" Beth asked, shaking her head and wringing her hands, "It's not that we don't want you to live a normal life, far from it; that's why we moved here. But you need to understand that there are, complications..."

"All I've ever heard, all my life, is that there are 'complications' and 'issues' that you never explain." Miranda countered, "What's this big, dark secret you've been keeping from us?" She cocked her head towards Kendra, "And what's it to do with her?"

"I'm an old friend of your parents," The visitor explained, "from before you were born."

"Your accent." Sam looked up, "Colonial?"

"You've got a good ear." Kendra smiled, "Yes, I was born on Caprica in the Cyrannus system, and I live on Kobol."

"So you were in the military then?" Miranda looked at her parents, "I always figured that was part of the truth; dad's got the same ex-Marine look some of the other veterans I've met have."

"It's, not that simple." Her father looked at his wife, "It's time they knew the truth, Elizabeth."

"Now I know you're serious." Beth frowned, "It's the only time you call me by my full name." Her shoulders sagged, "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Do what?" Sam asked, intrigued.

"Tell you the truth we've been keeping from you your entire lives." There was real pain in John's eyes, "The truth about who you really are. About _who_ and _what_ your mother and I... were."

"Office?" Beth asked.

"Office." Her husband nodded, "Seeing is believing."

He silently led the way down to the lower level of the house, to the one room his children knew not to enter without permission, no matter the circumstances. Their grandmother's study had taken on a near mythical standing in their mind, and the idea that their parents would invite them in seemed near sacrilegious.

"Where is Cathy?" Kendra asked, nodding towards the brass nameplate on the oak door.

"Medical conference in the capital." John explained as he held the door open to let the others file in, then closed it securely, "I left a message for her at her hotel hinting that she might want to cut it short."

Beth crossed to the desk and sat in the chair, the terminal before her powering up on its own.

"_Good afternoon, Elizabeth._" A voice spoke up, shocking Miranda and Sam, who had never heard it before, "_I take it by our unexpected guest that it's time?_"

"Yes, Jerrod." Beth closed her eyes, "Open the vault, please."

"_As you wish._" The AI turned the smart glass in the large windows overlooking the garden opaque, and there was a faint hiss of equalising pressure, "_Opening vault._"

The large bookcase that filled one wall of the room suddenly opened outwards on silent electric motors, revealing a secret basement dug into the hillside beneath the rest of the house. Inside was a well equipped computer laboratory with a top-of-the-line work station and military-grade secure server. A holographic emitter sprung to life, and a bright point of blue light appeared above the work station.

"It took me two months to dig this out by hand and rig up the Faraday Shield that keeps it safe from prying eyes." John explained, "Took another year to gather together all the equipment your grandmother wanted to continue her work without anyone asking questions."

"This... this is incredible!" Miranda examined some of the equipment, "I didn't even know some of this was on the open market yet." She lent in closer to get a better look at one specific piece, "That's a Visigoth-IV multi-spectral analyser! I've read about them, but never thought I'd ever see one."

"Geek!" Sam coughed, earning him a harsh look from his mother.

"Only the best four our Catherine." Kendra chuckled.

"That's... not all." John made his way over to a thick, safe-like door built into one wall. He paused with one hand hovering just over the biometric lock, "I was in the military, but I was Navy, not Marines."

He pressed his hand against the sensor pad and closed his eyes as it checked his palm-print, heat signature and DNA against its records. There was an audible click as the door unlocked and popped open a fraction of an inch.

"You might want to be sitting down for this next part." Kendra warned the two children, "I sure as Hades know I would."

Sam took her advice, but Miranda remained standing as their father pulled the door open.

The suit inside was chipped and scratched in places, with the visor cracked badly, a silent testament to the sheer ferocity of the battle it had been through. The dull green paint was somewhat faded by the years, and the protective outer layer had lost its sheen, lending it the appearance of old copper. Yet despite all that, it somehow managed to convey an aura of power and lethality that radiated out. Despite having seen it countless times before, Kendra still felt a chill run down her spine. Years may had passed, and she had seen and done things that she would never have thought possible before, but there was still something about that particular suite of armour, and the man who had worn it, that made her shiver.

There was a thud from behind her as Miranda's legs turned to jelly, dropping her to the floor in a heap. Her wide eyes, matched only by her gaping mouth, struggled to take in the idea that her father, a man whom she had never once seen raise his voice, let alone turn to violence, could possibly have been a Spartan. She had read about in books and on the data-net, even seen them in films and on the TriVee. They may not have been the faceless, indestructible embodiment of human military might they had once been, but they were still seen as an elite, near mythical force who stood watch over humanity and their allies. She looked at her parents, half expecting to seem them laughing at the complex practical joke they had played on their children, but saw nothing but the truth in their eyes.

"You were a Spartan?" Sam managed to find his voice first.

"Yes, yes I was." John nodded slowly, his own gaze fixed on the armour he had not worn in two decades, "But it's more complicated than that. I..." he trailed off, unable to find the words.

"Maybe this will help." Kendra pulled a small data-pad from her jacket pocket, "Jerrod, if you would access and display file one, please."

"_Certainly, Admiral_." the AI calm, almost overly formal voice seemed out of place, as did his use of her rank rather than name, "_Syncing now._"

The screen built into the main computer terminal flicked on, displaying an old photograph. Neither Miranda or Sam recognised the setting, with its bare metal walls at odd angles, but they certainly recognised their mother, all be it much younger and dressed in a UNSC duty uniform. They also recognised Kendra, as well as the old-style Colonial Fleet uniform she wore. They were sitting together on a worn sofa, feet up on an equal battered coffee table, laughing at something off camera.

"This was taken aboard the Battlestar _Galactica_, twenty years before either of you were born." Kendra looked to Beth and John to make sure they were happy for her to continue, "And two months _before_ we made contact with Admiral Grant's fleet."

"I wasn't a UNSC officer. Oh, I wore the uniform, and they even acted like I had earned it, but I never received a commission." Beth took over, "That was all just part of an elaborate ploy to keep the truth hidden. Elizabeth isn't my real name; my entire life was created from scratch by, well, someone who felt we deserved a little peace. My name, then name I went by when that photo was taken," she gestured towards the image on the screen, "was Halsey, Cortana Halsey."

Silence filled the room.

"You..." Sam looked at his mother, his eyes wide with shock, "You're..."

"You have to understand there there were certain, complications, that we had to keep secret." Kendra spoke up, realising that there were some things that her friend found too hard to put into words, "Your mother was captured by the Cylons, but not until _after_ we met up with Admiral Grant."

"Then how did you get there?" Sam asked, trying piece everything together in his head, "Were you in the Shield World with the others?"

"Don't be stupid, squirt." Miranda rolled her eyes, momentarily forgetting her confusion as she mocked her brothers mistake, "That was months after New Caprica."

"Maybe we should start from the beginning." Kendra took a deep breath, "John?"

"I am..." The sheriff looked at the armour, his face reflected in the visor, far older than it had been the last time he had looked out at the world from the other side, "I _was_, John-117."

His words hung heavy in the air.

"Bullshit!" Miranda laughed nervously, "You nearly had me going there, but you just had to go that one step further, didn't you? Everyone knows that the Master Chief died on the Cylon Halo..."

"Everyone's been lied to, myself included." Kendra looked the younger woman in the eye so she could see the truth to her words, "I am Vice-Admiral Kendra Shaw, Director of the Colonial Naval Intelligence Service. But back then I was _Captain_ Kendra Shaw, assigned to the Battlestar _Galactica_. My job was to act as liaison officer between Admiral Adama and the Master Chief. And yes, by that I mean your father." She turned her head to look at John, a faint smile on her lips, "I owe him my life, and the lives of everyone I care about."

"Daddy?" Miranda was the first to speak, sounding much younger than she was.

"It's true." John nodded, reaching out to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Why?" Sam looked more confused then ever, "Why pretend that you died?"

"Because... there are people who feared something I knew back then, something I don't know now." His mother did her best to explain, "They would never have just let us _be_, not then, and probably not now. So we came here, with your Grandmother..."

"Grandma!" Miranda looked around, suddenly remembering the missing member of her family, "How does she fit into all this?"

"'_Catherine_'." Sam looked at Kendra, some of the pieces starting to slot together in his mind, "Before, you called her '_Catherine_'. And if Mom was Cortana _Halsey_..."

"Yes; your grandmother is Dr Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, MD and PhD." Kendra nodded, "Smartest woman I ever met."

"And she's not _technically_ your grandmother." Beth looked down at her feet, "My DNA is an exact match for hers, biologically making me her identical twin. But again, only technically. You see... I was created in a laboratory and born in a vat of nutrient gel. I'm not exactly what you would class as human." She took a deep breath, "I'm a Cylon."

**To Be Continued...**


	3. Flesh & Blood

_This chapter will hopefully answer a few questions that have been raised,  
__as well as adding a little more depth to the events of the previous story_

**A Life _More_ Ordinary  
****Chapter 3: Flesh & Blood**

Miranda's face went blank, her mind only able to process so much information at once. Sam seemed to be taking longer to take everything in, but was somehow managing to cope better. None of the grown-ups felt like interrupting them until they had managed to come to some kind of equilibrium.

"I've seen pictures of Cylons." Sam was the first to recover his voice, "You don't look anything like the ones they showed."

"That's because I'm, well, a little different." Beth crouched down until she was face to face with her children, hugging her knees, "I'm sure you know about the history of Smart A.I.'s; about how your grandmother perfected them by cloning human brains and mapping the neural pathways? Someone came up with the idea of sending the SPARTAN II's deep into Covenant Space to strike at their command structure. The idea was that if they could kill or capture their leaders, they might be able to end the war before the Covenant found Earth, and they wanted an A.I. to send with them. So your grandmother cloned her own brain, and programmed the A.I. with every dirty little trick she could think of, and gave it to your father." She looked up at her husband, "That A.I. was me."

"Your mother did more to keep me alive back then then any suit of armour." John nodded, laying a hand on her shoulder, "I never would have made it off the first Halo without her."

"You always underestimate your luck." She put her own hand over his, "But I hope you all understand if I don't go into too much detail over what happened; there are some elements that... well, I still have nightmares, even now." She laughed, "Nightmares! How funny is it that I have nightmares? A mind crafted to infiltrate alien computer systems, and a body based on a template intended to infiltrate human civilisation, yet I'm still susceptible to the same metal frailties as anyone else." She turned to look at her children, "Well, I know you covered the basics of what followed in school; your father and I were picked up by the Colonial Remnant after more than 80 years adrift in the wreckage of the _Forward Unto Dawn_."

"Although, it should be noted that they kept her existence a secret from us for the first couple of months." Kendra grinned, "Then again, we were _slightly_ technophobic back then."

"You tried to kill me the first time we met!" Beth managed a weak smile, "Anyway, we travelled with them, not realising just how long we had been in stasis, or even knowing if there was an Earth to get back to. It was during this time that I had my first encounter with the Cylons. It was... odd, coming across and entire race of A.I.'s who were similar yet distinctly different from myself. I only had seconds to learn all I could about them, but that was a near eternity to me back then, and I was surprised to discover that they weren't as united as they might have looked from the outside. I was already starting to show signs of rampancy by that point, and I will admit that it scared me. I don't know if it was the rampancy, the fear, some other factor or a combination of a lot of things, but I found myself making the rebel faction an offer; my help in exchange for a biological body." She gestured to herself, "This body, to be precise. They accepted my offer, so I set about implementing the plan I had concocted in secret. I couldn't tell anyone, not even your father; what I was planning was collusion at best, treason at worse. Then we fond New Caprica, and I thought that I had missed my chance. Until, that was, the Cylons found us. Admiral Adama sent us back on the _Bad Moon Rising_ to try and contact any resistance, but he didn't know, no one knew, that the entire time we were planning the liberation of New Caprica, I was in contact with the rebel Cylon faction."

"You..." It was Kendra's turn to look and act surprised.

"No, I never told you." Beth admitted, "It was years before I told John or my mother. I'll be the first to admit that I was probably more than a little... mad? Is that the word I'm looking for? Whatever the case, I wasn't completely rational back then, but I never once compromised operational security or the safety of the ships that had escaped. They knew that we'd be coming back from the moment we started to run reconnaissance missions; I just told them to be ready for when the fighting started. We went in, strapped to a rocket sled and fired out of one of the _Galactica's_ launch tubes. Soon as we hit the ground, your father uploaded me into the Cylon mainframe so I could disrupt it. What he didn't know, what I hadn't told him, was that that was only part of my plan. The rebel Cylons had created this body for me, as per our agreement, and it was waiting for me to upload myself into."

"It wasn't easy; I'd already created a somewhat dumbed-down duplicate of myself to leave behind, just in case I didn't make it out, but I was still taking one _hell_ of a risk. There was so much that could have gone wrong, but by that point I could feel my mind starting to slip away, piece by piece." She shuddered at the memory, "I had little to lose and everything to gain, so I did what I always did, what I always will do." She looked up at her husband with loving eyes, "I put my faith in luck."

She paused looking around the room.

"When we got back to the _Galactica_, the Admiral threw me in a cell until he could decide what to do with me. It took me a _very_ long time to earn back his trust." She took a deep breath, "The rest, well, you've probably covered it in school, albeit with a few... _alterations_. We found the Temple of Five and rescued your grandmother and the others from the Shield World, The time dilation effects caused by the spacial-compression field almost exactly matching the time we had spent drifting on the _Forward Unto Dawn_. Then we made out alliance with the surviving rebel Cylons and carried on until we met up with Admiral Grant's relief force."

"What she's leaving out is the time she got drunk and started dancing on a table top, singing a rather drunken Marine curse-out song." Kendra winked, "As well as a certain conversation she had with Sharon Agathon..." She stopped dead, her head tilted to one side, "Okay, how did you get past that particular, _quirk_, of Cylon physiology? Don't tell me that neither of them have... encountered it, for want of a better term, yet?"

"Oh Gods!" Beth burred her head in her hands, "No, no they haven't; my mother was able to find a way to remotely block some of their, inherited, characteristics." She looked at her children, blushing profusely, "Kids, I know we told you _never_ to do this, even when you went swimming or were in the shower, but I want you to take off your medical alert bracelets."

Miranda and Sam looked at each-other, confused, but did as instructed and removed the thin, close-fitting metal bracelets from their left wrists.

"Neither of you are allergic to penicillin, but I'll explain the reason for _that_ particular ruse later." She looked more apprehensive of that conversation than she had of admitting her own nature, "Anyway, back to our story."

"You should know the basics from school; how we decided to raid the Cylon Resurrection Hub in a bid to try and force the loyalist faction to the negotiating table. What you don't know, what only a handful of people were ever told, is that the Cylons had set the entire thing up as a giant trap just to capture me." She tapped the side of her head, "Back then I still had an Activation Index for one of the Halo arrays locked away in here. Or to be more precise, the Activation Index for the Halo where _Guilty Spark_ had set up home. The Number Six that was leading the Loyalists by that point wanted to follow through on _Spark's_ plan to fire the Halo's, wipe the galaxy clean of life, then repopulate it with his Cylon followers. What they didn't have was the Activation Index." Her face darkened as the memories of her imprisonment came back from the deep, dark hole in the back of her mind where she had finally been able to banish them, "I wouldn't give it up, no matter what she said or... did. It was... worse... than the Gravemind. I... don't have the words to really explain it, but I think... having a body, so much more to lose and... the pain..."

She broke down and wept, unable to continue.

"Admiral Grant forbade us from going after her, even when we told her about the Activation Index, mainly because of the Hood Protocol." Kendra took up the story, leaving John free to comfort his wife, "I knew the others would have something planned, even if they didn't want to risking bring me in on it, so I kept an eye on them and waited. Fate, luck, whatever you want to call it, was evidently on my side because I was getting ready to take the _Bad Moon Rising_ out when they made their move. I know the history books and the media say it was a carefully planed covert operation, but the truth is that we took what we could grab and ran while they were looking the other way. We knew we were committing treason, but we also knew that it was something we _had_ to do. My only regret is that I didn't have a chance to tell Layne what was going on before we jumped out."

"All we had to go on where some vague references to a place where the Cylons had retreated to after the end of the first war, some forty years before. It wasn't much, but we figured it was as good a place as any to start. The last thing any of us were expecting to find was, well, a _Halo_. Now I'd read about them and seen photos, same as you two have, but let me tell you, _nothing_ prepares you for actually seeing one with your own two eyes. There's something about the sheer _scale_ of them that no image or description can do justice to. I've been to shipyards and orbital habitats and mining facilities, but none of them even come close to the overwhelming size and scope of the engineering and aesthetics that the Forerunners put into something as relatively mundane as a weapon. It was like... looking at a toy discarded by a forgetful god. I didn't have time to get philosophical about it back then; we had to rescue your mother before the Cylons forced her to give up the Activation Index. But later, when I got back home... it still bewilders me, even now, that _anyone_ could build something that big."

"I didn't get as good a look at it as the others." Beth managed to find her voice, having regained at least some of her composure, "I was taken from a ship to what I later discovered was the central control room, where they... well, did things to me that I will never be able to forget. Or forgive. But I never gave up the Index, I never lost hope, because I _knew_ that your father would be coming for me." She stood and wrapped her arms around her husband, breathing in his scent, "You should always know that, no matter what happens, no matter what the circumstances, there is no power in this universe that could ever stand between your father and you if you ever need him."

"Yeah, he got her out; tore his way though everything the Cylons threw at him like he was Ares himself. With a little help from the rest of us, towards the end." Kendra nodded, remembering the images that his _Decimator_ Battle Suit had transmitted back to the Prowler where she had sat, waiting, "But by then Fleet-Admiral Chandra had arrived with enough ships to blot out the sun, and all hades was breaking lose in orbit. We, that's to say, Chief Mendez and I, dropped your grandmother off and then had to high-tail it out of there with two entire squadrons of _Raiders_ on our ass. We managed to break orbit before they took out our engines and left us drifting in space, thankfully headed away from the battle. We cut power, played dead, and thankfully they fell for it. Got a good view of the _Thel 'Vadam_ going up. Lot closer than I would have liked, in fact."

"But that's one thing I don't get." Miranda looked at her parents, "All the history books say you were killed in the shock-wave that followed that slip-space rupture. How did you escape?"

"Now _that_," Beth smiled faintly, "that's a whole other story."

**To Be Continued...**


	4. The Man Behind The Curtain

**A Life **_**More**_** Ordinary  
****Chapter 4: The Man Behind The Curtain**

"Please allow me to introduce myself; I'm a man of wealth and taste." A voice came from back in the office, making everyone look round in surprise; an grey haired man dressed in a crisp, white suit sat in the chair behind the desk. He laughed deeply, "Sorry, but I always have liked that song. Anyone, for the sake of expediency, you may call me simply... Edward."

"_You_." John's voice was as cold and unforgiving as the depths of space.

"Me!" The man gestured to himself, "I do hope you'll forgive my little dramatic flair; it's not all that often I get to meet new people who know the truth about me. Or at least, are about to know the truth."

"If you wanted them to know the truth, you'd show them what you _really_ look like." Kendra snorted, "Not this little... _show_, you put on for visiting dignitaries."

"But I like this form." Edward protested, "Anyway, we're getting off topic; you were about to explain how I bravely rescued three people from a disintegrating Halo."

"_You're_ the one who save them?" Sam asked, somewhat sceptically, "You look like a used-cars salesman!"

"Kids these days; no respect for their elders. And they don't come much older than _me_." The newcomer shook his head in disbelief, "I chose this visage to ensure peaceful and harmonious interactions with you humans, as you have a proven tendency to be ill at ease with my true form."

"His real name Offensive Bias: he leads a group of Forerunner AI's who call themselves The Conclave." Kendra crossed arms, "They like to hang around Kobol, handing out trinkets to impressionable idiots and generally acting like massive tools."

"We oversee the passing of The Mantle to humanity." Edward looked at her like a disapproving teacher correcting a student, "We spent thousands of years observing your species, both on Earth and on the Twelve Colonies, hoping to see some sign that you'd matured as a civilisation. Every now and then wed give you a little nudge, trying to help you without tipping our hand. We also help those who have proven to be, exceptional."

"Like, mom and dad?" Miranda asked.

"Yes, but not necessarily for the reasons you might think." Edward shook his head, "Oh, your father is a most impressive warrior, as is your mother, in her own way. But its their capacity for self-sacrifice that most impressed us. Few could have gone through what they did and survive with their, _humanity_, intact. That is why we chose to _bend_ the rules a little, and saved them from otherwise certain death. It was clear that going back wasn't an option; there is only so much interference we can justify, and there was bound to be someone who wouldn't believe us if we told them we had removed the Activation Index from your mothers head. Not that it would have been any good to anyone, after they had blown the Halo it was for into its component atoms."

"Nova bombs." Kendra nodded, suppressing a shudder at the memory, "Really live up to their names."

"So, we brought them here, to a world that was no stranger to people who didn't want to talk about their past." Edward continued, "We set them up with fake identities that would pass all but the most extensive background checks. And I'm talking '_track down people you supposedly went to school with and ask them if they remember you_' extensive. Here, hidden from anyone who might recognise them, they were free to live a life a little more ordinary than they had done."

"And we're eternally grateful." Beth nodded quickly, "Both for that and helping out now."

"I live to serve." Edward shrugged, then made a show of looking at his watch, "Is that the time? I really must dash; I have some impressionable idiots I must hand out trinkets to. Expect me when you see me."

There was a flash of brilliant, pure light, and he was gone.

"I _hate_ it when he does that." Kendra rolled her eyes.

"He's really not so bad," Beth insisted, "when he's not talking down to '_lesser beings_'."

"I think we've had enough excitement for now." John closed the case holding his armour and ushered them all out into the study, "Close the vault please, Jerrod."

"_Certainly._" The A.I. sounded remarkably calm given all that had happened, and the hidden doorway swung shut as silently as it had opened, with only the faintest of clicks indicating that it was locked, "_Vault sealed._"

The three adults looked at the two teenagers, trying to gauge how they were coping. A few long, awkward, minutes passed in silence, no one sure what to say or do next. For Miranda and Sam, the startling reality of just who and what their parents were was finally starting to hit home with a vengeance, their entire world view wiped away in a few short minutes. Not only did they have to take in that everything they had grown up knowing about their family was built on a network of carefully crafted and maintained lies, but they also had to try and comprehend how the truth affected every facet of their lives.

For their parents, it was a time of anguish and fear as they watched the troubled faces of their children. They had sworn to do everything in their power to make sure that the lives they had left behind did nothing to interferer with the lives of their children. They had known that it was a fools hope, that maybe they would never have to tell them the truth, but hope they had. Now they had to stand and watch as the whole charade came crashing down. Neither of them could help but think that it might have been easier if the children had been younger, but the longer the lie had persisted, the easier it had been to pretend it was the truth.

Kendra stood, leaning against the bookcase that hid the door to the secret lab, and watched it all with a certain clinical detachment. It had taken her days to come to terms with the idea that her friends hadn't died back on the Halo when Edward had first come to her. Days during which she had been forced to pretend she was buried with work to avoid spending time with her own wife and children, less they pick up on her mood and realise something was afoot. She knew that, as much as she trusted them, this was yet another secret she would have to keep from them, as much for their own protection as anything else. For while the latest generation of SPARTAN-V's were deadlier and more capable than those that had come before, there would no doubt be those in the darker recesses of the Alliance who would like to see the natural-born offspring of a Cylon and the single most highly decorated SPARTAN who ever lived added to their arsenal. She could well imagine what she would feel like if someone tried to take her own children away to turn into living weapons, and it was not something she would wish upon her worst enemy, let along two dear friends.

"I think I'm going to throw up..." Miranda bolted for the door, making her way to the bathroom as fast as she could, which was far-faster than any regular human under similar circumstances.

"All in all, I think she took that kind of well." Kendra remarked dryly as the sound of retching could be heard from down the corridor.

* * *

A cool wind was blowing down off the mountain, carrying with it hints of pine and snow, but the roaring blaze in the fire-pit kept the patio area cosy. The sun had set, allowing Fraser's World's oddly misshapen moon to shine its somewhat dull light upon the world below. Plenty of stars could be made out, as well as more man-made constellations of orbiting space-stations and visiting starships.

Not that anyone was looking up.

"This is our eldest, Martha Cortana: Layne gave birth to her just a few weeks before you had Miranda." Kendra held out her data-pad: the small screen displayed a young woman with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, "She wants to be a Doctor, and she's smart enough to pull it off. Not such a good driver. I wanted to name her after you directly, but Layne put her foot down on that one. Naming her after my mother was a compromise."

"I got to name Miranda; John was still getting used to the idea of fatherhood back then." Beth smiled, curling her legs up beneath her as she looked across to where her daughter sat, silent but a little less green around the gills than she had been, "I did let him name Sam; Samuel Franklin Avery. Samuel, after his best friend growing up, Franklin, after Chief Mendez, and Avery, after a Marine Sergeant we served alongside."

"Oh, I got my revenge." Kendra swiped across the screen, calling up the next image. This time it was a young man, tall to the point of being lanky, with black hair and blue eyes, "My first, John William, named after the big lug indoors and the _first_ Admiral Adama. He seems interested in becoming either a school teacher or a cop, depending on what sort of mood he's in. Personally, I think he'd make a good artist, but he refuses to see painting as anything but a hobby." She swiped the screen again, and the image changed to two young women, both of whom were sticking their tongues out at the camera. One had dyed her hair bubblegum-pink, the other neon-green, "And now we have the reason why I'm starting to go grey before my time; my twins, Anna and Chloe. How the two sweet little girls who used to be obsessed with ponies grew up to be such rebellious teenagers I'll _never_ understand. Claim they're going to start a band and make a million Cubits overnight. Personally, I think they sound like a malfunctioning dishwasher, but then again I'm not a big fan of what passes for 'popular music' on Kobol these days."

"Tell me about it; I sometimes think Sam's miss-tuned his radio when I hear some of the so-called music he and his friends listen to." Beth laughed, "Gods, it's good to see you again."

"It's good to be seen." Kendra smiled as she put the data-pad down on the seat beside her, "I mean, I have friends, and of course, Layne and the kids, but there are times when I miss the time we spent on the _Galactica_. I know I'm letting nostalgia cloud my memory, and that it could be a living hell, with the threat of the Cylons hanging over our heads. But still..."

"You had fewer responsibilities back then." Beth tilted her head to one side, "It's not like John or I gave you that much work, and even when we found the others, Lucy aside, we kept pretty much to ourselves unless needed."

"You're tactfully leaving out your own drunken... shenanigans." Kendra laughed, "But I guess you're right; my life back then was, less complicated, I suppose is the best way of putting it. I always wanted to be in a position of influence: all through my time at the academy, and when I first came aboard the _Pegasus_, just before the Cylon attack, all I could think was '_how will this help me rise up through the ranks?_'. I guess that kind of got put in prospective." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to help banish some of the darker memories of that time, "I guess I'm better at finding out and keeping secrets than I ever was as an XO."

"If you're so into secrets, I've got a good one for you." Beth smiled coyly, "I'm pregnant."

**To Be Continued...**


	5. Acceptance

_Just some quick background information; while in-story explained as being a persona created by the Forerunner AI Offensive Bias as a means of interacting with humans more easily, __the inspiration for the character Edward is taken from John, one of the so-called 'Beings Of Light' in the original_ Battlestar Galactica.  
_Given the fact that we already have a character named John in the story, I changed his name to Edward, after Edward Mulhare, who played him in the episod_e Experiment in Terra.

**A Life **_**More**_** Ordinary  
****Chapter 5: Acceptance**

"Are you sure?" Kendra asked after a moments silence, "Have you taken a test? Or seen a doctor?"

"Don't need to: I just know. It was the same with Miranda and Sam." Beth shrugged, swatting a few loose strands of hair away from her face, "It must be something to do with being a Cylon, because I just woke up one morning two weeks ago and knew; not suspected, but _knew_, that I was pregnant again."

"Sharon Agathon said something very similar when she was pregnant with Karl Jr." Kendra picked up her data-pad, "Don't worry; there's a few gigs of photos, videos and text here to catch you up on everything that's happened on Kobol since you 'died'. I picked this one up at the local mall after Edward let me in on the big secret. Figured you'd want to keep a copy."

A commotion from inside the house indicated that John had almost finished getting dinner ready. Given the amount of stress everyone had been put under, it had been decided to forgo cooking anything, and instead order in a pizza. But even then, the former Spartan had flat out refused to simply eat it out of the box as his wife and children had suggested. Just why someone who had spent more than half their life eating cold field rations whenever and wherever he could had become so fastidious over preparing a meal was a mystery to all who truly knew him.

"Does he know?" Kendra asked, glancing at her friends abdomen, as if she half-expected it to be growing already.

"He's not said anything just yet, but he has already switched us over to the decaffeinated coffee without having to be asked, something I know my mother is going to _hate_ when she gets back." Beth signed, "For someone who's seen me go through the birth of two children and three bouts of stomach-flu, he can be a little..._ squeamish_ at times."

"Nice to know that even a demigod has his Achilles Heel." Shaw laughed at the mental image of the stoic Spartan turning green around the gills over something a simple as a pregnant wife. "If you don't mind me asking, was it planned?

"Sort of. There's not exactly a lot of hard data as to just how long a Cylon remains healthy and fertile, and there's not anyone I could just go ask." Beth cocked her head to the side and rested it against one hand, "So the last time my implant was due for renewal, after some deliberation, we decided to let it lapse and see what nature had in mind. There is a definite psychological aspect to Cylon reproduction; if what Sharon told me is true, you need to truly love the other person. That said, I'm sure that if there wasn't a part of me that liked the idea of more children, then we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now." She closed her eyes and shrugged, "I guess at least _part_ of me wanted this."

"Dinner's ready." John called from the doorway as he made his way out, carrying a large plate in one hand and five smaller ones in the other, putting a premature end to the conversation.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay with the couch?" Beth asked for the fifth time, "I'm sure mother wouldn't mind you using her bed for the night."

"One of the first things I learnt about the esteemed Dr Catherine Halsey was just how private a person she is, and I doubt that time has changed that." Kendra shook her head as she spread a thick blanket out across the perfectly comfortable looking couch in the lounge. "Anyway, I've slept in far, far worse."

"Well, we have plenty of fresh sheets and warm blankets." Beth placed an armful of linen down on a nearby chair, "As well as a new set of pyjamas I was saving for winter. Hope they're not too warm."

"I'll survive." Kendra put a hand on her friends shoulder, "You need to get some sleep; you've had a very stressful day."

"Tell me about it." Beth grimaced, "But before I go to bed I've got to explain a few things to Miranda while John has a father/son conversation with Sam."

"Oh!" It was Kendra's turn to grimace, "That'll be... fun."

* * *

Three hours later, and Kendra still couldn't sleep. The time difference between Wolf Lake and Elysium City was almost five hours, and Fraser's World had a rotational period of just over 26 standard hours, unlike the very Earth-like 24 and a quarter hours she was used to back home on Kobol. Even the wine she'd had with dinner was refusing to help her drift off. Instead she sat under the blankets, reading a book on a small data pad she kept for non-classified work. Even through the thickly pained windows, she could hear the sounds of the woods just outside, along with the soft creaking of the timbers in the roof as they shed the warmth of the day. She was also keenly aware of the person standing on the other side of the door leading to the hallway, the soft, almost inaudible sound of their feet on the thick carpet as they shifted their weight from one leg to the other.

"You might was well come in." She spoke softly, "If nothing else, to rescue me from this truly tedious book."

The door opened almost silently, and Miranda slipped through, hugging a worn, pink robe around her slender frame.

"Couldn't sleep." She whispered, crossing the room to one of the armchairs and curling up in it with her legs folded beneath her, "Too much to think about."

"That's... one way of putting it, I guess." Kendra nodded as she shut off her data-pad and put it down in her lap, "Something you want to talk about?"

"It's just... too much to take in." The younger woman admitted, her gaze locked on a patch of carpet midway between the two of them, "I mean, you think you know your parents, right? They're there, every single day of your life, a constant point of reference. Unchanging. Then, all of a sudden and without any warning, ___bam__, _everything you thought you knew is a lie!"

"Not all of it's a lie; they're still your parents, and they still love you totally and unconditionally." Kendra insisted, keeping her voice low and her tone soft, "Yes, there are , aspects, that they may have lied to you about, but only for your own protection. I've spent the last two decades working in military intelligence, so I know better than most the danger they would have been in had they returned to their old lives. And that's not to mention the danger you and your bother would have been in; there are people, some of whom I consider good, close, personal friends, who would have taken one look at the two of you and seen the next generation of SPARTAN's."

"But I've never been..."

"You've spent your entire life having your natural abilities artificially suppressed to help hide who and what you are. Yes, there are other human/Cylon hybrids out there, but to the best of my considerable knowledge, there has never been a Spartan/Cylon hybrid, until you and your brother came along. None of the argumentations your father underwent were genetic, but the fact remains that he was selected because he was stronger, faster and more intelligent than most humans. You wouldn't think it to look at him, but he's probably got the equivalent of two Masters Degrees and a genius level intelligence to back it up. What little I've seen of you and your brother indicates that you've inherited at least that much from him. As for you mother, well, you're going to find that you're even stronger and faster than you were before. Smarter too, most likely, especially when it comes to computers and electronics. And that's not even touching on other, inherited traits."

"Don't remind me." Miranda buried her head in her hands, "That was the single most uncomfortable conversation of my life!_"_

"I remember when Sharon Agathon had to have a very similar conversation with her eldest, Hera." Kendra chuckled at the memory, "Never seen her so drunk as she was after that little discussion." She looked at her young companion, "So, do we know if...?"

"No! I mean... no... I don't know... yet." Miranda looked almost physically sickened, "And it's going to be a very, _very_ long time before I recover from the conversation enough to find out."

"How do you think your boyfriend will take that?"

"We haven't... gotten into a situation where he'd find out, yet. Part of that is he's too scared of what dad would do to him, not even knowing just _who_ and _what_ he is, and part of it is... we've not felt ready to take things that far. _I_ have not felt ready to take things that far."

"Well, I would advice that you make sure you are ready before you do anything you might later regret. As for the rest? I'm not the person you need to talk to. Yes, I know plenty of people whose kids have had to grow up under the shadow of their parents. I was there myself, once. But the fact remains that this is something you're going to have to deal with by yourself. Just remember one thing: they're still your parents, and they still love you unconditionally. Gods know, there isn't anything I wouldn't do to keep my children safe."

"I guess you're right." Miranda admitted, "It's just a lot to take in."

"No one said it was going to be easy, but you don't have to go through it alone: that's what family is for." Kendra looked at the clock on the mantelpiece, "Now, off to bed with you; it might not be a school night, but you still need at least some sleep."

"Yes, mom." Miranda managed a faint smile, "Thanks for listening."

"I'm a spy-master; listening to what other people have to say is what I do best."

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
